Page 31 of Recklessly in Love

They all are hers.

I’m hers.

The thought has gravity, and it settles deep in my chest as we both come down from orgasm.

I pull away slowly, retrieving a towel from my discarded pack and using it to gently clean Joanie and myself. She rolls over on the rock and lifts her hips to shimmy back into her pants while I put my own to rights.

I’ve caught my breath by the time I sink down beside her. Mostly. I lose it a little again when I look at her. Her alabaster skin is flushed, her ice-blue eyes bright, and her dark hair spilled out from under her cap and splayed over her shoulders and neck. She’s just-fucked beautiful, and with the snow-covered trees and mountains behind her, she’s this mountain man’s dream girl.

That feeling in my chest burrows deep, and words escape me. At least all the ones that mean anything. I know she doesn’t usually do deep, and the last thing I want to do is scare her off so soon.

So I settle for asking, “Hungry?”

She grins, and her face lighting up outshines the bright winter sun above us. “Starving.”

I unpack the lunch I brought, and we settle on the rock, side by side.

Joanie lifts her sandwich with a laugh. “First grilled cheese, now PB&J? You sure you weren’t a mother hen in another life?” she teases, taking a big bite of her sandwich.

“Hey, I’m no Mia, but I’ll have you know I make a mean PB&J,” I tease back.

She chews, a thoughtful expression on her face before finally giving a slow nod. “That you do.” She looks like she wants to say something else. Eventually, she asks about my work at the community center.

Even though I’m pretty sure that’s not what she wanted to say, I go with it.

“It’s rewarding,” I tell her. “I get to help people, whether it’s seniors staying active or kids learning new skills. Plus, it gives me plenty of time for my own hobbies, like fishing and hiking.”

She nods. “Sounds idyllic. Very different from my old life.”

“What kind of law did you practice?” I ask, realizing I don’t know much about her career.

She sighs. “I was a corporate defense attorney. Basically, I helped big companies get away with shady shit.” She shakes her head. “And the higher-ups never took me seriously no matter how good I was. I was too ‘aggressive’, apparently. A man with my style would’ve made partner years ago.”

I frown. “That’s bullshit.”

“Tell me about it.” She takes another bite of her sandwich. “Anyway, enough about my past. Tell me more about this town. Who runs what around here?”

I’m surprised by how little she wants to discuss herself, but I don’t push it. So, I give her the rundown.

“My Uncle Henry owns the grocery store where he handles the second half of business hours, with my cousin Ned, who you’ve met —” Joanie smirks “— handling the first half of the day. My Uncle’s wife, Margaret, runs a small mail shop with the world’s tiniest post office inside. My father and uncle co-own the gas station and convenience store-slash-tackle shop. Jerry owns the tavern and the sad excuse for a coffee stand. Then, of course, there are Nate and Mia’s businesses. And as you know, I own the community center, though I also own the land with the pond, my house, and a good amount of acreage besides. Oh, and I co-own a shit ton of land in and around the town with my father.”

“Hm,” she murmurs. “So what’s with the whole Old West vibe? The wagon wheels and stuff?”

I explain the town’s gold rush history and the shuttered museum.

Joanie mulls on that for a minute before asking, “Who owns the museum?”

I stop, realizing I’d never thought about that. “I don’t know,” I admit.

“So no one in your family then?” she presses.

I shrug. “Guess not. Anyway, my dad had all these grand plans to turn Alpine Ridge into a Wild West tourist trap, which sounds great, in theory, since that’s the town’s roots. But all of his ideas were so over the top that they’d make a mockery of it. Themed campgrounds, boardwalks, the works. He even wanted to put in an amusement park. But he couldn’t get approval for any of it, thank fuck.”

Her eyes narrow. “So he’s not on the town council?”

I laugh. “God, no. He only inherited land here a few years ago. He hasn’t spent much time in Alpine Ridge, but he’s sure got opinions on what to do with it.” I shake my head. “His pushiness has made things harder for me with the council. They’re all old-timers who resist change, and now they don’t trust me much either.” I pause, debating whether to ask her something.

“What’s that look?” she asks, furrowing her brow.

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